Almost 60 years after Menzies Lyth’s (1961) seminal research, Tavistock Consulting were given rare access to work intensively over an extended period with nurses on the Acute Assessment Unit of a large London hospital which was struggling with poor retention. After observations and interviews on the ward, an unusual programme was developed combining work discussion groups, mindfulness and taught systems-psychodynamic concepts.

It was met with negativity and resistance. Defensive structures and libidinal acting out abounded, but a. spontaneous stepping away from the consultant’s interpretative stance to a more relational one was a breakthrough moment and change seemed possible. Two years on, retention has dramatically improved and the programme recently won a National Retention Award.

This seminar will invite the audience to explore the consultant’s ‘act of freedom’ (Symington, 1983) and whether the approach may have any wider relevance for practice or policy beyond its specific context.

Speakers: Kay Trainor and Jennie McShannon of Tavistock Consulting.

Tavistock and Portman Centenary Series

This is a part of the Tavistock and Portman Centenary series. Our 100th Year will be celebrated with a series of seminars, talks and events. For more visit: https://tavistockandportman.nhs.uk/100years

In September 1920 the Tavistock Clinic was founded and saw its first patient. In 2020 we are celebrating 100 years of the organisation that has become the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, and will be looking forwards to where we go next.